No site in sight yet for Luton Girls’ Academy ahead of September opening

Published:09:37Thursday 29 January 2015

It is still not known where a new all girls school will be located when it opens its doors this summer, the Herald & Post can reveal.

Luton Girls’ Academy is set to open in September but as of yet no permanent site has been secured for its first term.

It is understood that the preferred location for the free school is a industrial site off Kingsway, Luton, though a planning application to erect a building has not yet been lodged with the council.

With uncertainty over the length of time the planning process and possible construction will take, a temporary site is being scouted so the school will still be able to open.

As of yet a temporary site has still not been secured by the Education Funding Agency, leaving prospective parents still in the dark over where their children could be attending school later this year.

A Department for Education spokesperson told the Herald & Post yesterday that “discussions are ongoing” over a site for the school.

When Luton Girls’ Academy was given the go-ahead by the Department for Education in June it was hoped that the school’s first intake would comprise of 120 Year 7 students.

Prior to the October 31 deadline for parents’ secondary school forms, 58 applications listed Luton Girls’ Academy as first preference.

In July headteacher Saiqat Liaqat told our sister paper, the Luton News, that the school had amassed a lot of support after a series of information events across the town.

She added: “It is time for something very different and I’m pleased to say that we have already had a significant amount of interestfrom parents who have told us that Luton Girls’ Academy will be their first preference.”

Ms Liaqat was unavailable for comment when contacted by the Herald & Post.